SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 33.0% in the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 918 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 4.3% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 21,548 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,540,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $814,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Salesforce by 35.3% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,769 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,540,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.5% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 97,418 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,046,000 after acquiring an additional 11,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $361.99 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $309.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.80. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $346.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.54, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush increased their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.